Interlinked
by Ramen Noodles
Summary: Back after a long hiatus! The beginning of the second part of the story. Synopsis: Minako wakes to find herself on a strange alien Earth sometime in the future!
1. Prolouge

Hello all! I am brand new to fanfiction.net, and after reading so many great stories, I was inspired to dig up some of my own old   
  
fanfics to upload. This story, "Sailor Moon Neo" is the adapted version of the Yahoo! Groups RPG that I owned some years ago. It was   
  
called "Venus Glitter Crystal," and was a great RPG while it was still alive. After it started petering out, I had wanted to make a   
  
story version since I loved the RPG so much. So this, of course, is the product of that. I wrote this fic quite some time ago   
  
(read: three or more years), and was unable to finish it. However, after uploading it and having to edit the chapters, I began to   
  
ponder whether or not I should finish it. Then a review from Cel helped me to decide that I really ought to finish it. So, I hope to   
  
be able to finish it a few chapters or so... thanks Cel!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters... so don't sue me.  
  
====  
  
Sailor Moon Neo  
  
Prolouge  
  
====  
  
"Where are you?" an aged, weathered voice asked the air. An old man   
  
crouched low by a crackling fire, gazing into its blaze with a frightening intensity.   
  
A weak breeze teased the ends of his long, white hair, making the stillness of the   
  
man even more apparent. He had deep blue eyes that surveyed the licking   
  
flames; he was searching for something.  
  
With a sudden burst of movement, he flipped his bony hand out, releasing   
  
a small handful of white petals. They slipped into the flames, charring and   
  
curling from the heat.  
  
"Magnolia," he commented to no one. He was frail looking, and was   
  
dressed in rags and simple leather sandals. He sat again for a bit, studying the   
  
way the flaming tongues curled and snapped at the air. Then, he slowly reached   
  
into his pouch, and took out a handful of deep violet flower buds.  
  
"Clematis," the man said softly, watching the flames begin to bleed with a   
  
dark purple hue. "I will find you." He rose from his crouching position, and   
  
consulted a decayed book that was laid open on a stand next to the fire.   
  
Reading careful instructions, he then walked back to the purple fire, and looked   
  
up at the sky.   
  
Right ahead of him was the planet Venus, unblinking and yellow in the   
  
sky. It was then that the wind really picked up, sending the flames into violent   
  
purple columns. He held up his hand, positioning Venus between his   
  
outstretched thumb and forefinger.  
  
In the desert around him, sand began to slither across the dunes,   
  
conforming to what the wind was commanding it to do.  
  
"My Minako, where have you disappeared to? Where did you go? You   
  
have not died, I can feel your presence... ALL of you are still here," he stood with   
  
his feet planted firmly, staring at Venus as if accusing it.  
  
"Ever since the great Darkness, you all have been gone, and oh, how we   
  
have needed you. We needed your power, your love-- we needed the princess. The earth   
  
could not defend itself without its Senshi here to protect us. Without you, we   
  
have lived in fear for centuries."  
  
"I was your partner, I should have had the power to protect you from   
  
whatever it was that took you away, yet I didn't. I should have had the power to   
  
protect the earth with Luna, yet I didn't. We couldn't save them all."   
  
He paused for a moment, thinking of his wife. An image seeped into his   
  
brain, showing him a stunningly beautiful woman with long, curly black hair and   
  
startling blue eyes.  
  
"Luna," he whispered, tears squeezing their ways out of his eyes. "Luna is   
  
gone now, just another casualty of the war that has been upon us. Without you,   
  
we are lost, and so I have resorted to the Ancient's mahou to let me find you.   
  
You Minako... and the Senshi, must return to us."  
  
He then took out some sort of powder, and sprinkled it onto the purple   
  
flames, causing them to grow and take on a bluish hue. He chanted some sort of   
  
incantation, and then looked up at Venus again.  
  
"Let me free," he whispered, the wind tracing his words. "Let me out…" he   
  
was cut short as he felt a strong power sear through his body, piercing him   
  
through the heart. He screamed in pain as he was lifted into the flames by some   
  
unseen force, and dropped inside them. The blue flames curled over his body,   
  
taking his life from him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain,   
  
but it was all he could feel. As his last few breathes struggled their ways out of   
  
him, the longest tongue of flame reached inside of him, ripping his soul from his   
  
body.  
  
He felt it happen, it was if he was being slapped awake from a sleep, and   
  
he was alive again suddenly. As he examined his hand though, he realized that   
  
no, he was not alive... he was floating above his slowly blackening body, looking   
  
down at himself.  
  
"I am free," he said in a strangely ethereal voice, "And now, I will find you!" 


	2. Chapter One

This is the first official chapter of my fic. It was very interesting to write as it involved... ah, that would be telling. Please   
  
read and review!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters... so don't sue me.  
  
====  
  
Sailor Moon Neo  
  
Chapter One  
  
====  
  
Bland. Aino Minako watched the sun melt into the horizon, signifying what   
  
should have been one of the most gorgeous things she'd ever seen. However,   
  
seeing the sun set for the first time seemed old to her, and the colors were weak   
  
and washed out... bland.  
  
She was sitting on a grassy hill of her high school, Juuban High, with her   
  
closest friends... supposedly enjoying the beauty of a sunset. However, the   
  
scene bored her to death; it looked as if it were a bad watercolor painting that a   
  
child had done with an overly wet brush. She sighed, a noise that sounded even   
  
more unnatural to her than the odd colors of the wishy-washy sun.  
  
Minako glanced over a scene that she felt she had seen a thousand times   
  
over: her friend Mizuno Ami pouring over an Advanced Chemistry book, Hino Rei   
  
and Kino Makoto gushing over the supposedly gorgeous sunset, and Tsukino   
  
Usagi and Chiba Mamoru in each other's arms: the perfect couple. The bleached   
  
colors of the sunset were fading into purple, and she heard another expected gush   
  
from Rei and Makoto.  
  
Why did watching the sunset for the first time with her closest friends in   
  
the whole world feel so drab and boring? With almost a knowing feeling, Minako   
  
turned around in time to see her other friends walking up behind them. It was   
  
Meioh Setsuna, a tall and tanned 18 year old, looking pleased to see her friends'   
  
faces. Alongside her were Tenoh Haruka, and Kaioh Michiru, hand-in-hand:   
  
another perfect couple.  
  
Together, they were the Sailor Senshi... and they were finally in an eternal   
  
peace. Just but a few days ago, their beloved princess (otherwise known as   
  
Usagi) had dispersed Chaos once and for all, creating for them a long period of   
  
peace ahead. However, Minako didn't feel as excited about it as she should   
  
have... it just seemed all so repetitive to her.  
  
Minako picked at some blades of grass as the other Senshi shared some   
  
idle chatter around her. She felt nervous energy coursing through her veins; she   
  
felt restless and unnerved. She knew that something big was about to happen,   
  
but she couldn't remember what it was exactly.  
  
The sound was like a soundtrack to an old movie--flat, dull, two-  
  
dimensional and crackly. It even had the low reverberating tone underlying the   
  
rest of the sounds.   
  
It was then that the nervous feeling that Minako had came to life. Setsuna cringed   
  
and doubled over--almost simultaneous to the complete disappearance of the   
  
sun. She fell to her knees, breaking out in a strong sweat. Haruka, who was the   
  
closest, dove to help her.  
  
"Setsuna-san, are you alright?" she asked, trying to help her back up.  
  
"Time…" Setsuna panted, clutching her stomach. "Time has been   
  
altered...i t's all over now!"  
  
Minako watched this with disinterest, she had seen it a thousand times   
  
before! She knew now what came next. She stood totally still as the other   
  
Senshi screamed--the sky exploded into a million colors, and then the world   
  
shattered like a mirror, the pieces crumbling down. There was nothing but   
  
blackness and emptiness... but it was all familiar to Minako.  
  
...  
  
  
  
Bland. Aino Minako watched the sun melt into the horizon, signifying what   
  
should have been one of the most gorgeous things she'd ever seen. However,   
  
seeing the sun set for the first time seemed old to her, and the colors were weak   
  
and washed out... bland.  
  
  
  
--Why is it happening again?--  
  
She was sitting on a grassy hill of her high school, Juuban High, with her   
  
closest friends... supposedly enjoying the beauty of a sunset. However, the   
  
scene bored her to death; it looked as if it were a bad watercolor painting that a   
  
child had done with an overly wet brush. She sighed, a noise that sounded even   
  
more unnatural to her than the odd colors of the wishy-washy sun.  
  
--Why am I sitting through this again?-- A new thought chain was emerging in this   
  
old memory.  
  
Minako glanced over a scene that she felt she had seen a thousand times   
  
over: her friend Mizuno Ami pouring over an Advanced Chemistry book, Hino Rei   
  
and Kino Makoto gushing over the supposedly gorgeous sunset, and Tsukino   
  
Usagi and Chiba Mamoru in each other's arms: the perfect couple. The bleached   
  
colors of the sunset were fading into purple, and she heard another expected gush   
  
from Rei and Makoto.  
  
--I am trapped... let me out!-- Minako recognized this frustrated voice and mind   
  
as her own, but why was she thinking it? Did it have something to do with this   
  
odd scene?  
  
Why did watching the sunset for the first time with her closest friends in   
  
the whole world feel so drab and boring? With almost a knowing feeling, Minako   
  
turned around in time to see her other friends walking up behind them. It was   
  
Meioh Setsuna, a tall and tanned 18 year old, looking pleased to see her friends'   
  
faces. Alongside her were Tenoh Haruka, and Kaioh Michiru, hand-in-hand:   
  
another perfect couple.  
  
--How long have I been here?-- Minako thought, suddenly realizing that there   
  
was more than met the eye. She tried moving, but she was constricted to when   
  
she moved in the dream. So, it was a dream, was it? A dream, a memory,   
  
playing over and over like a bad Saturday night rerun?  
  
Together, they were the Sailor Senshi... and they were finally in an eternal   
  
peace. Just but a few days ago, their beloved princess (otherwise known as   
  
Usagi) had dispersed Chaos once and for all, creating for them a long period of   
  
peace ahead. However, Minako didn't feel as excited about it as she should   
  
have... it just seemed all so repetitive to her.  
  
--This isn't right, this shouldn't be! How long have I been in this dream loop?   
  
How do I get out?-- Minako felt panic beginning to rise in her throat. Throat?   
  
She still had a body? She was slowly becoming aware of another body, one that   
  
wasn't trapped inside this godawful dream world.  
  
Minako picked at some blades of grass as the other Senshi shared some   
  
idle chatter around her. She felt nervous energy coursing through her veins; she   
  
felt restless and unnerved. She knew that something big was about to happen,   
  
but she couldn't remember what it was exactly.  
  
--Make it stop!-- she cried out mentally, trying to move her materializing arms.   
  
But they were frozen, locked in place by something strong. --Artemis? Are you   
  
there? Why aren't you in my dream too?--   
  
The sound was like a soundtrack to an old movie--flat, dull, two-  
  
dimensional and crackly. It even had the low reverberating tone underlying the   
  
rest of the sounds.   
  
--Artemis! Help me!-- she felt herself choking with fear as she realized that she   
  
couldn't move, couldn't breathe, her heart wasn't beating... all she could see was   
  
the thin dream in front of her eyes. She fought against the force that held her   
  
still, but it was too tough, too strong.  
  
It was then that the feeling that Minako had came to life. Setsuna cringed   
  
and doubled over--almost simultaneous to the complete disappearance of the   
  
sun. She fell to her knees, breaking out in a strong sweat. Haruka, who was the   
  
closest, dove to help her.  
  
++Minako, I found you++  
  
--Artemis? Is that you? Why can't I see you? Why can't I breathe? Why am I   
  
trapped? Help me!--  
  
++Minako, I have searched for you for a long time. After you and the Senshi left   
  
us all, everything fell to pieces. The Earth is dead, and so am I. Moon-cats-  
  
turned-human only live so long. I had to use the Ancient's mahou to find   
  
you... ++  
  
--Artemis, get me out of here! I can't breathe, I can't see!--  
  
++Don't you hear what I'm saying to you? Listen to me!++  
  
--Help! I can't take it, I'll die, save me!--  
  
"Setsuna-san, are you alright?" she asked, trying to help her back up.  
  
"Time... " Setsuna panted, clutching her stomach. "Time has been   
  
altered... it's all over now!"  
  
++Calm down, Minako! Listen to my words! You must save the Earth... you are   
  
in another time now! It has been hundereds of years since I was separated from   
  
my body... I don't know how much worse it is down there++  
  
--Artemis, why am I trapped, where am I trapped? Help me, let me out!-- Minako   
  
felt her body tense up, she was trying to move, but she couldn't get free. She   
  
tried violently to twist from side to side; she felt a scream rising in her throat, she   
  
had to be free!  
  
Minako watched this with disinterest, she had seen it a thousand times   
  
before! She knew now what came next. She stood totally still as the other   
  
Senshi screamed--the sky exploded into a million colors, and then the world   
  
shattered like a mirror, the pieces crumbling down. There was nothing but   
  
blackness and emptiness... but it was all familiar to Minako.  
  
--Artemis?-- Minako was staring into the darkness now, the dream did not start   
  
again. What had happened? Then she saw him in front of her. An old man in   
  
raggedy clothing and simple leather sandals. He had long, ratty white hair, and   
  
was glowing. At first she didn't recognize him, but then she looked into his deep   
  
blue eyes... eyes that matched her own.  
  
--ARTEMIS!-- she cried out, trying to reach for the old man, but unable to move.   
  
He took a step closer to her, and then another, until he was walking at a steady   
  
pace. With each step he grew considerably younger, until he was the young man   
  
with long white hair that she used to know. She felt tears in her eyes, but was   
  
unable to cry them.  
  
++My dear Minako, I hope you listened well to what I told you, for I must go   
  
now... be free, and take on this new mission next to your best of friends.++  
  
--But, why can't you be with us?-- she inquired, wishing she could furrow her   
  
brow, but unable to. He said nothing more, simply reached forward and touched   
  
his fingers to her forehead. Under his fingertips, she felt her Venus symbol   
  
glowing strong... then, he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers, and her   
  
heart started beating; a world of bright colors swallowed her up.  
  
...  
  
CRACK! Minako's heart thumped into life, and she felt her frozen   
  
body shift slightly. She struggled and strained against this unseen force, moving   
  
it ever so slightly. CRUNCH! Her top end shifted slightly again, and she realized   
  
that she was hearing the first real sound that she had ever heard in a long time.   
  
The sound of glass spider-cracking was incredibly faint, but to Minako's ears it   
  
sounded deafening. Finally, with a powerful thrust of her arm, she felt the wall   
  
that enclosed her give way...  
  
Minako's baby blue eyes opened for the first time in centuries; lights   
  
and colors were so bright and fuzzy that she almost had to shut them again.   
  
She was falling, falling into a coldness that she could never had imagined. She   
  
was still unable to breathe, the vacuum of space around her prevented it. Her   
  
naked body shivered, and she curled up as she fell backwards out of her crystal   
  
tomb. She looked up at it. It was a cut orange crystal that was now breaking into   
  
a million pieces as she fell from it; its shards were all around her, falling out from   
  
between her fingers and loosening from her skin, flying in sparkling showers in   
  
every direction.  
  
She was dizzy and confused, where was she? She then felt a warmness   
  
that enveloped her, blood finally beginning to ciruclate again, even though it had   
  
no new oxygen as of yet. She looked wearily up behind her as she flipped over,   
  
in time to see long, graceful white wings sprout from her back and flap out,   
  
sending a cascade of feathers into the space around her. She felt the   
  
ribbons of her fuku wrap around her, comforting her. It was then though that she   
  
realized that she wearing an eternal fuku... Minako tried to call out, and coughed   
  
up pieces of glittering orange crystal.  
  
"Eternal Sailor Venus!" she spluttered, and then turned over in time to see   
  
the Earth floating beneath her. 


	3. Chapter Two

As you all know, this story was an adaptation of an RPG that I used to own named Venus Glitter Crystal. When I had originally written the first two chapters three years ago, I had wanted to follow the entire RPG in its entirety. However, now that I have decided to finish this story off, I realize that plot-wise my original plan just does not work the way that I want it to. And so, this chapter is when the storyline very harshly deviates from the original plot. Please read and review!  
  
====  
  
Chapter Two  
  
====  
  
An eyelid stained with golden paint fluttered, allowing a sickly crimson iris to stare out into the world. The eye blinked several times, and then the iris rolled up beneath the lid, quivering gently. A hushed silence fell across the room then; the only sound audible was that of the computers churning and a heart monitor pulsing. The silence continued to build in the room, and it quickly became thick enough to nearly slice with a knife.  
A group of scientists stood huddled around a water-filled glass chamber, intently observing the contents therein. A very pale figure floated at eye level with the scientists, strapped down to the flat back of the chamber in various places. The figure seemed to resemble a deathly thin female. Her skin was so pale and taught that one could see the masses of veins and arteries thumping beneath it.  
She violently lurched then, seeming to go into a seizure. The heart monitor roared to life, and the scientists started scrambling about to various stations around the large room.  
"Quickly now, before it's over!" shouted the lead scientist, who stood at the head of the room, watching a very large and blank screen intently. He readjusted his tiny mirror-like spectacles, wiggling his bushy grey moustache. At the sound of his voice, the rest of the scientists seemed to throw it into high gear and cords were quickly connected, knobs turned, and dials spun.  
The girl launched into another set of violent spasms, her tiny body pushing against its restraints. Her shoulder-length white hair floated freely, moving fluidly in reaction to her motions. Beneath her clear breathing mask, one could see her stained purple lips baring, and her teeth grinding themselves together. Her eyes fluttered, and her red eyes rolled back into their sockets yet again. The screen at the head of the room began to crackle, and a faintly snowy picture began to appear.  
"I want a picture channel switch now! Clean that up, pronto!" the lead scientist yelled again. The picture began to track all over the screen, and a hideous hissing noise could be heard over the din of keyboard clacking. Multiple bands of color started blotching in and out, and the picture began to grow stronger.  
"The time has come," sounded a strangely ethereal voice over the main loudspeaker. It was a female's voice. The lead scientist's eyes widened so much that they were visible around the metallic quality of his glasses.  
"Are we recording?!" the scientist squeaked, looking as if he were ready to explode at a moment's notice.  
It was then that the picture finally locked on, becoming crystal clear on the giant screen. It portrayed a strange shaky view of the planet Earth from outer space. The beautiful blue and green orb floated gently on a pattering of glittery stars. The entire room was so silent that a fly landing on someone's desk would have startled him. The picture glitched slightly, and then returned to normal.  
"The end is near," the female voice came again, strong in its tone. "Beware of the great darkness. It is the end."  
The picture flickered, and a strange black liquid began to trickle down the entire Earth, slowly covering it. There was a collection of gasps that went up around the room, but the lead scientist help up his hand for silence. He watched the screen intently, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face. The screen jumped, realigned itself, and then quickly faded into black and white. A strange string of images with muffled watery audio started flooding out, showing odd machines, explosions, and people dying.  
It was then that the footage ended, leaving everyone in the room with a cold feeling inside. No one said a word, except the lead scientist.  
"Get the president. NOW!"  
The girl suddenly fell silent and still again. A small cloud of bubbles escaped from her breathing mask. Her ruby eyes stared blankly out into the room.  
  
====  
  
Minako rolled over, moaning softly. The fleeting images of her dream still swam before her eyes, and she winced as a shooting pain ricocheted through her skull. She pressed her palm against her forehead, and brushed her golden bangs from her eyes.  
"What was that?" she mumbled, her voice cracked and dry. Her mind kept jumping back to the images of the albino girl in the water tank, and she shivered. She shook her head, trying to gain her bearings. It was then that she noticed that she had been lying on a hard wooden table, and had nothing but a ragged white cloth draped over her body. She groaned as she moved, her muscles roaring with pain. She was glad that it was dark, wherever she was. She slid into a sitting position, and groped around in the dark for the edge of the table.  
As she swung her feet over the end of the table and went to stand, she found that her legs crumpled under her. The white cloth fell on top of her, succeeding in confusing her worse. She flailed around, finding that her limbs didn't respond the way that she wanted them to. It felt as though her entire body was asleep, only she was minus the pins and needles sensation. She panted, feeling as though just this much exercise has winded her completely. Her tongue felt swollen in her mouth, and she seemed able only to emanate dry whines. She heard the sound of footsteps then, and seized up.  
Suddenly she was enveloped in blinding light, and heard the sounds of yelling. Her eyes squinted shut, unable to handle the glare. She then felt rough hands on her arms, and she was lifted and carried somewhere. Her head was still swimming, and all she could do was mutter incoherently. Her breathing was shallow, and she felt painful tears spring to her eyes.  
She was laid down again after some time, and she felt a sharp pricking sensation in her right arm. She rolled her head from side to side, staring at the blurry shapes that moved above her. She felt a cool and wet sensation on her forehead, and more cloth covering her body. A soft rhythmic beeping also started somewhere in the distance.  
"Shh, it'll be alright," she heard a voice say to her. She mumbled something in assent, and then immediately dropped back into the darkness of slumber. 


	4. Chapter Three

====  
  
Chapter Three  
  
====  
  
This time as Minako opened her eyes, it only took a few seconds before her blurry vision cleared. She found herself staring at what seemed to be a strange, makeshift cloth ceiling. She gradually became aware of a soft beeping noise, a bulky blanket that weighed her extremities down, and a foreign plastic tube in her nose.  
Minako blinked heavily, and then turned her head to the side. Her neck felt stiff and rigid, but it did in fact turn on command. She looked all around the room, and realized that she was in some sort of tent designed for medical attention. There were tons of machines and tubes, as well as cabinets stocked full of small pill bottles, syringes, and the like. There was a flap at the front of the tent that was pulled over, and next to it was a cart stacked messily with gauze, bandages, and an assortment of liquids and boxes that she could not make out.  
She inhaled deeply, listening to the heart monitor pick up its pace. She wiggled her nose, realizing how weird the plastic tube felt in her nostrils. Slowly Minako was able to twist her arm out from under the covers, and saw that an IV was taped into the crook of her elbow.  
"Don't worry, it's the plastic kind of needle. You can bend your elbow if you want," came a deep voice suddenly. Minako rolled her head in that direction again and saw a large male figure standing in the doorway. The sunlight pouring in from behind him was terrifically blinding, and she had to squint just to be able to see him. He stepped into the room, and the tent's flap fell back into place behind him.  
"You've been asleep for nearly four days, my dear. Glad you're back with us now," the man repeated, as he came up the side of her bed. He stooped and checked on the machine that recorded her vitals, and quickly made a few notes on a clipboard on top of it.  
"How are you feeling?"  
Minako stared up at him, trying to figure out if she knew him. He was a relatively tall young man with light brown hair, and a white lab coat. He seemed to have a kind enough face too, with his gentle green eyes and bright smile. And of course, obviously, he was a doctor.  
"F-fine." she croaked, her voice squeaking gently. The doctor regarded her with a raised brow.  
"Ok. like crap," she corrected herself, and broke into a weak smile. The doctor laughed, brushing some of his hair out of his face.  
"That certainly works." He pulled out a chair, and sat down by her bedside. "You know, you're absolutely a miracle case," he said, nudging the thin glasses on the bridge of his nose. Minako just continued to look at him, waiting for an explanation. She knew that she needed quite a lot of them.  
"When you woke up the first time, you had been in the morgue tent for nearly two days. When we found you out there in that crater, we were quite sure that you were dead - HAD been dead for a few hours already," he commented gently, and then turned to pick up a tiny plastic bag. Inside of it was a little white tag and string. Minako glanced at it, feeling her heart skip a beat.  
"This, of course was your toe tag. You didn't have a pulse, and your pupils were completely unresponsive. We were actually quite certain that you were deceased. So imagine our surprise when we start hearing noises in the morgue tent, and come in to find you fumbling about on the floor. You scared the guard on duty near to death," he smiled at her, and placed the plastic bag in her open hand.  
"We don't know how you did it, but after you woke up you were in critical condition, and we were able to bring you back."  
Minako nodded, remembering the confusion of that entire moment: the bright lights, the rough hands grabbing her, being unable to walk, and feeling so dry and cracked. She wondered to herself just what had happened. as everything in the recent past was just a blur to her.  
"Now of course I don't want to overload you with information, so I'll let you rest for awhile. In the meantime though, can you tell me your name? The whole camp has been calling you Zombie Girl for the past week. It's not flattering of course, but it unfortunately was the wittiest name they could come up with," the doctor recalled with a grin.  
Minako somehow did not find this to be amusing, but decided not to comment.  
"M-my name is A-aino Minako," she finally got out. The doctor nodded and scribbled it down on a clipboard. He turned it around and held it in front of Minako's face.  
"Is this the correct spelling?" he asked. Minako squinted at the kanji that had been scribbled at the top of the record sheet. She blinked though, when she realized that she did not recognize it.  
"Uh." she commented, blinking and squinting again. Were these some obscure high-level kanji that she had never seen before? She knew she hadn't been the brightest student in the school, but surely there wasn't a way to spell her name that she didn't know about. "Err. how exactly did you spell it?" she croaked gently, looking up at the doctor with bewildered eyes. The doctor frowned, and looked at the clipboard again to make sure he hadn't messed up.  
"You do read Japanese, right?" he asked, readjusting his glasses. "I know you speak it, obviously. we heard you mumbling phrases in Japanese when we fist put you in intensive care."  
"O-of course I read it. I just. don't recognize that," she answered, feeling just as confused as she did before. The doctor looked alarmed, and looked at the clipboard again.  
"Hmm," he said, scribbling more information onto the clipboard. "Well, you go ahead and get some rest. I'll be back to check in on you later." And with that, he replaced the clipboard on top of the heart monitor, checked the level of her IV, and left the tent. Minako was left to ponder her situation, and try to scrape together the remnants of memories that she'd had recently. It was all so much that she caused herself a headache. She decided then to just go back to staring at the tent's ceiling. At least it made sense.  
  
====  
  
Minako grimaced at the plate of food in front of her. She was sitting fully upright in bed, and had a tray of what the doctor called "nourishment for sick bodies" on her lap.  
More like nourishment for people who have no taste, she thought to herself with a frown. She purposely held her nose as she scooped some of the yellowish moosh into her mouth with a spoon.  
She had been steadily recovering for the past few days, and was quickly beginning to feel like her old self again. She had become friendlier to the doctors and nurses that came in and out of her tent, and had quite nearly turned back into the social butterfly that she was before.  
Before what? She suddenly thought to herself. She swallowed the gross lump of food thickly, letting her spoon arm fall to her side. She still wasn't sure of what had happened to her. She glanced down at the cast that she wore on her left arm and sighed.  
Of course she had learned quite a lot from her doctor in the past few days. She knew that his name was Doctor White, and that he was a native English speaker. He was one of the only ones at this camp that was literate in and able to speak Japanese as well, and so it made her communications very limited. She was fluent in English too, of course, but when she had tried to speak to him, she found that he kept using words that she did not understand.  
That confused her pretty well, and to make it worse, every time he spoke to her in Japanese, he would sprinkle in strange words, verbs, and tenses that she couldn't quite grasp. He would continuously write down words in kanji to see if she recognized them. Of course when she couldn't, he would "hmm" to himself again and scribble something on his clipboard. Minako had become quite fed up with the whole thing.  
She knew that she was at a semi-permanent camp that was used for research. Dr. White kept calling it a "Surface Station," and waited to see her reaction. When she just looked at him blankly, he would again "hmm" to himself and scribble on his clipboard. Minako wished desperately that she could read what he was writing because she had a feeling that it would help answer some of her questions.  
She shoved another spoonful of lumpy mash into her mouth, grumbling to herself about her situation. When are they gonna get some decent food, anyway? She wondered to herself. You know, like chocolate parfaits, and curry.  
Her thoughts were cut short as she accidentally bumped her spoon arm against the bed's rails. The sensation produced burned so badly that she nearly dropped her spoon. She grunted, checking on her arm. The skin was still strawberry red and peeling like crazy. She shook her head, beginning to feel more agitated.  
The doctor had explained to her that she had horrific sun poisoning from being out in that crater completely naked for as long as she had been. She also had two broken ribs, a broken arm, and a concussion to boot. If only I could figure out just what the hell happened to me, she thought again, bitterly. She couldn't recall where she had been or what she had been doing prior to waking up in the morgue tent a week ago. The time between the defeat of Chaos and the present was a total blank in her mind, and it really was beginning to cause her large amounts of stress. She couldn't understand the past, and she certainly couldn't understand what was going on now. She quickly pushed her tray of food away, setting her spoon inside of it. She was tired of all the pain that her body felt, she was tired of the constant headaches she had, tired of not understanding what was going on, and tired of being confined to this bed in the same stinky hospital gown day in and day out.  
Minako decided quickly, and pushed back the covers on her bed. She then went to swing her legs, and found that they responded rather numbly. She grunted, and used her arms to help her hoist one leg up over the bed railing. She quickly got the other to follow, and used her body weight to get the rest of the way over the railing. She flopped to the floor with a smack, effectively tearing the IV from her right arm. Minako bit her lip until it bled to keep herself from screaming in pain from all the movement on her injuries. She gasped, taking in air. She quickly squirmed towards the side of the tent, using her arms and her half-working legs. The pain was searing as the canvas floor of the tent scraped against her sun burn, but she fought back the tears and kept heading for the wall. I'll make it, she thought to herself as she crawled to the edge of the tent. She sidled up next to it, and gently lifted it up an inch to peek out underneath.  
The first thing she encountered was a face full of reddish brown dirt. It had a charred taste, and was seemed to retain an almost uncomfortable amount of heat in it. She coughed it out, and squinted into the sunny air. All that she could see around her were more tents, and a lot more dirt. She guessed that she was in a desert of some sort, and wondered how that possible since she didn't know of any deserts in Japan. She glanced to either side, checking to see if anyone was coming. She began crawling out underneath of the tent, straining with her atrophied leg muscles. Her messy and oily blonde hair dragged along on the ground with her, picking up tons of dirt along the way. She had just gotten her feet out from under the tent when she heard a loud siren pierce into the air.  
"Crap," she spat, trying to hustle herself along faster. "I'm busted!" She was quickly corrected however, as she heard a rumbling sound in the distance. Minako paused, feeling the vibrations tremble their way up her arms. Muffled sounds of human yells sounded throughout the camp, followed by far away strange mechanical clicking and whirring. Minako's brow furrowed, wondering just what the hell was going on. Using her non-broken arm as leverage, she slowly flipped herself onto her back. She gasped as she stared at the sky, shaken to the core. Instead of the normal blue sunny daytime she was used to, she found herself staring at an inky black sky sprinkled with glittering stars. But it wasn't nighttime. everything was too bright for that! Plus, the sun itself was burning down from just overhead. Minako's head began to pound, and she felt the familiar wash of confusion overtake her.  
Her distress was cut short though, as a huge explosion rocked the camp from overhead. She screamed and covered her face as a brilliant blue flash went off in the sky, and the resounding boom from it shook her roughly. It was rapidly followed by an additional one.  
"What the HELL?!" she squealed, her baby blue eyes wide with panic. She flipped herself back over onto her stomach, covering her head with her arms. She panted heavily, her mind racing fast enough to match her pulse. It was then that the rumbling sound resurfaced in the current cacophony, and she peeked out under from her arm to her right. Her jaw nearly hit the ground as she saw a colossal two-legged lizard that bore a striking resemblance to a tyrannosaurus rex moving at full tilt straight towards her, shaking the ground like an earthquake in the process. She froze, watching it in terror. It was at least two stories high, and had bright orange markings all the way up and down its sides and tail. Its teeth were massive, and so were the claws on its feet that were only a few hundred yards away from her. It was also closing in with an unbelievably alarming rate.  
Her heart knocked on her ribcage so hard it nearly hurt, and she realized that she needed to move NOW or she would be crushed. She scrabbled at the dirt in a panic, trying to move in a direction-any direction, but was met with her weak legs and a sense of panic so overpowering that it hindered her movement. She finally just curled up into the tightest ball possible, and squeezed her eyes together fiercely. just praying for the best. 


	5. Chapter Four

Hello everyone! Sorry that it took me over a week to get this chapter up! It's rather difficult to write battle scenes without hashing and rehashing them to make sure that they work properly. and this one was a doozy. This is actually the second version, as the first just wouldn't work no matter how much I changed it. and so I elected instead to rewrite it. This chapter is chock full of action, and is a little bit violent. just a prior warning. But hey that's why I labeled this story as PG13. I knew it'd get violent eventually; it's not your average Sailor Moon fanfic where everything is all bubbles and transformation phrases. In any case, please enjoy and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! R & R!  
  
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A cloud of bubbles was released from a breathing mask, and a pale albino figure seized up, her white hair flowing up around her face. She struggled against her bonds, seemingly in the throes of a seizure. Her faint screams could be heard just barely outside of the glass tank, but there was no one around to hear it. The room outside of her tube was completely dark and abandoned. A soft crackle of a tinny speaker system could be heard sounding just next to her tank.  
"Empower!" was the only word that exploded from it.  
  
----  
  
Minako's baby blue eyes shot open, suddenly feeling as if her body was being shocked by thousands of volts of energy. Her back spasmed, and she shot up on her hands and knees. She gulped in a huge breath, and leaned back, her eyes taking on a dull quality. The giant t-rex was closing in on her, thumping its way closer and closer.  
A faint orange flow flickered on Minako's forehead, and she was suddenly lifted to her feet. A bright ball of energy engulfed her, wrapping her in a bright light. She felt a knitting sensation in her arms and ribs, followed by a strange tingling all over her skin. The light faded, and Minako found herself standing fully transformed directly in front of the t-rex in mid-stride. its large clawed foot missing her right ear by mere inches.  
Pitching forward and hitting the dirt, Minako gasped as she realized that she just escaped being crushed by a hair's width. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she could feel adrenaline pulsing its way through her veins. She looked down at herself, panting. Her entire fuku was there: orange and yellow skirt, gloves, and boots. and quickly realized that her skin was no longer red. The cast on her arm was gone, and the singing pain of her broken ribs was completely absent. She shook her head, not understanding how she had transformed when she hadn't chosen to do so, and she hadn't said her henshin phrase.  
All of that was forgotten though as the reality of the situation returned to her, and she heard the roar of the t-rex only a short distance from her. Another explosion and shower of blue erupted in the sky, and she rolled over to stand. Her muscles trembled slightly, but they seemed to be quite alright. She glanced around, noticing that strange military-like men were racing in between the tents, and then glimpsing the t-rex's head just a ways off. With a racing heart, she tore off in the direction of the rex.  
Just as she rounded the corner, she found the t-rex being faced by a small group of the troops, all with strange guns in their arms. One of them fired off a round quickly, but the t-rex was already moving and grabbed the closest man in its jaws. It lifted the man into the air, allowing his body to fall farther back into the rex's mouth. The man screamed violently until the rex chomped down, effectively biting him in half. His legs and gun clattered to the ground, and Minako gasped, shocked. This. this. she had never had to deal with something like this before! This monster wasn't nearly some play toy of an evil being that stole energy, but instead something deadly. She had to save them all from being killed!  
"Hey you! Big and ugly!" she squeaked, her voice not really escaping her throat as well as she had wanted it to. The rex turned its head, its beady yellow eyes focusing on her. She gulped, freezing. Now what was she going to do? Stay calm. focus.  
She lifted her hands into the air, attempting to summon energy for an attack. She felt the familiar ribbons of energy pouring up her arm, and concentrating on her fingertip.  
"Venus Love-Me Chain!" she screeched, throwing her arms at the rex. Nothing happened. The rex tipped its head with an almost amused look, and then started thumping towards her.  
"Ohmygod! WHAT THE HELL?!" she wailed, and turned to run as fast as she could. She fumbled slightly, losing valuable seconds to escape. She scrambled along the dirt, finally getting up and sprinting quickly The ground rumbled beneath her feet, more explosions sounded in the sky, and she could hear gunfire coming from behind her. She felt tears springing to her eyes, and all she could do was pump her arms and legs as fast as humanly possible.  
  
----  
  
The pale figure's neck stiffened, causing her head to snap backwards. She lashed from side to side, causing small lacerations on her skin from her restraints. The crackly voice from the speaker sounded again.  
"Flee!" it cried in earnest.  
  
----  
  
Minako screeched her way around a corner, nearly falling in the process. She knew that the rex was closing in on her, but she didn't bother to look over her shoulder. Up ahead she noticed a line of army tanks backed up by a large amount of troops with guns. They started firing at the rex, but Minako kept up her forward motion. She missed the bullets and raced straight up to the tanks, jumping at the last moment. She touched her toes onto the front of one tank, and propelled herself high into the air.  
She felt the wind in her air as she took a graceful leap up and over everyone. As she flipped upside down, she noticed the troops abandoning the tanks in fear as the rex tore through them. It completely smashed its way through them, crushing them under its massive feet and claws. Minako landed with a thud some amazing amount of feet away and quickly spun to see what was going on. Apparently the troops had engaged the rex in battle, as it had given up its chase after her. She knelt in the barren soil, heaving for breath as if she had never before contained air in her lungs. Sweat poured down her face, and her bangs hung limply in her eyes.  
I don't know what to do. She clutched at her pounding heart, knowing that her magical attacks were not working for some reason. What is this? First I transform without wanting to, and now my attacks won't work. what the hell can I do? I have to save those troops! She had been in battle plenty of times before; she was trained for this type of thing. She just needed to get ahold of herself. She scanned the area, looking for something that she could use against the rex. She spotted a small bundle of aluminum poles and canvas; it was an incompletely built tent. Her mind whirred, and strange alien thoughts flooded through it. Almost as if she was moving under someone else's direction, she raced towards the pile of tent supplies, and grabbed one of the long poles.  
Minako spun on her heels, and raced for the middle of the battle, pole in hand. The rex has already taken out quite a few of the troops, but the others were still faithfully opening their rounds upon the behemoth. Her breath was still coming fast; she could hear her pulse in her ears as she moved the pole from in front of her, and raced up the side of one of the crushed tanks. Using its mangled gun turret for leverage, she leapt from it, soaring high into the air. With a voracious scream, she whipped the pole back in front of her again, and threw all of her weight behind it as she began to fall towards the rex.  
In an almost slow-motion like quality, it turned to look at her. She noticed that its vividly yellow eyes had a strange bit of intelligence behind them. She also noticed that it had blood trickling down its face from bullet holes that peppered it in random places. It seemed as thought it came to a realization as to what she was doing, and almost took on a pleading look. Then she heard its soft whimper of pain as her pole plunged into its chest, tearing through soft flesh and crunching through its bones.  
The rex then roared loudly, nearly bursting her eardrums. She clung to the pole, feeling the rex's warm blood spill onto her fuku and down the front of her body.  
  
----  
  
The figure screamed. It was loud enough to hear even without the speaker. Her body lurched a final time, creating a fresh wave of bubbles to escape from her breathing mask.  
  
----  
  
A surge of energy tore through Minako, jolting her entire body down to its cells. An explosion of orange electricity crackled through the air, blotting out the strangely bright sun and the starry sky. The rex fell forward, hitting the ground so hard that it shook the entire complex. It groaned loudly, and whuffed for breath. Minako landed just beside it, soaked in blood and feeling so drained that she could hardly move. She brushed some of her blonde bangs from her eyes, effectively smearing the monster's blood across her face. She then turned her head, and gazed into the rex's giant gold eyes. It looked at her with a strange lachrymose glance, filling Minako's heart with sorrow. Was it sad that she had ended its life? She hardly had time to contemplate this though, as the rex's life faded, and the it huffed its final breath. The troops seemed to back away from her; fear betraying them. Minako raised an eyebrow, and struggled to stand.  
Dr. White raced up, his eyes wide in a mixed look of shock, wonder, and alarm. He turned his head to the side then, as if trying not to look her directly in the eyes.  
"M-minako. I need you to come with me, please," he stated, his voice shaking slightly. Minako just stared at him, wondering what in the world he wanted.  
"Please. just come. there is someone who wants to speak with you." 


	6. Chapter Five

Look! I got this one out in a matter of a day or two! Aren't you proud of me? I hope that you find this chapter to be a bit more satisfying than the last couple. I thought it necessary to finally throw you all a clue as to what exactly is going on here. Enjoy!  
  
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The small room was very confining. and extremely square. The single yellow light bulb hanging over head added to the compactness of the room, since it was the only light source. There was nothing in there besides a rectangular table, two chairs, a steel door, and a huge mirror spanning the entire length of the wall. Minako eyed the entire composition of the space wearily, tugging on the white cloth of her robe. She rubbed at her eyes, and shifted position in one of the chairs, causing it to creak loudly.  
Sighing, she pulled her leg up onto the chair, resting her chin on her knee as she stared at the locked door. She had been sitting in here for quite a few hours now, just waiting for whatever or whoever. As she had been walking to this location, she had dehenshined suddenly, and nearly fell to the ground. Doctor White had been worried about her status, and had run a quick medical test on her. She was fine, but of course that baffled the doctor and made him seem even more worried. Ever since then she had been sitting in this godforsaken little room, staring at the mirror as if it was her only window to the world.  
Finally, she heard a muffled voice, and the door opened softly. Dr. White entered, a nervous smile resting on his face, and a clipboard held tenuously in his hand.  
"Sorry to keep you waiting there, I had to talk to the General," he stated simply, nudging the glasses on the bridge of his nose up a few more centimeters. "If you don't mind. can I ask you a few questions?"  
Minako looked at him, eyebrow raised. She was extremely tired after the day's ordeals, and was quite content to telling him where he could shove it. However, it was not in Minako's nature to be mean-spirited.  
"Of course," she answered resignedly. The doctor seemed to relax visibly, and slid into the chair across the table from her. He shuffled a few papers, and glanced hastily at the mirror on the wall. Minako didn't catch this however, and instead stared straight into the space in front of her eyes.  
"We'll start with the basics: what is your name?" he started, pen poised over a blank at the top of a paper. Minako raised her tired eyes to meet Dr. White's, and just stared at him.  
"Um, sir I think you already know what my name is," she replied, her weariness beginning to create and edge to her voice. The doctor nodded, and wrote her name on the paper, still in those strange kanji symbols.  
"And your place of residence?" he continued. Minako grunted. If they were going to rehash everything they'd already been through, why was she even bothering to comply? She sighed heavily.  
"Azabu, Japan. Specifically the Juuban District."  
"I see," he commented, shaking his head and making more notes on his clipboard. "And you live there with your parents?" Minako nodded heavily, hoping he would get on with some newer and fresher questions. This was boring her to death and she wanted nothing more than just to sleep.  
"Do you recognize any of this kanji?" he questioned, sliding a piece of paper peppered with strange kanji across the table to her. She didn't bother to look at it; it was the same one that he always used.  
"No sir, I do not," she droned, watching him tick off notes on his clipboard.  
"Do you know where you are?" he asked, looking at her over his glasses.  
Now there was a new one. He had never asked her if she knew where she was before. But she knew, seeing as how he had already told her multiple times. It was an improvement in the questions, but not really by much.  
"I am in a research camp that is located 'on the surface,' or whatever that means," she replied. The doctor was scribbling furiously now.  
"Are you aware of the conditions that we found you in?" he asked slowly. Minako understood his attempts, as he conjugated the verb "aware" in a really strange way, and it had taken her awhile to catch on to what it meant. She was slowly understanding his strange way of speaking in Japanese, but still was unable to comprehend his English fully.  
"Yes. You found me nude in a crater of this desert with a broken arm, broken ribs, a concussion, and horrible sun poisoning. I was also told that I was assumed dead for a couple of days," she responded. The doctor nodded.  
"And do you have any recollections of how you managed to get there, or in that condition?" he prodded then, tapping the end of his pen on his clipboard. He was beginning to seem slightly nervous again.  
"No."  
"What was your last memory before you woke up in our hospital tent?"  
Minako blinked. He had never asked this question before. She had tried on multiple occasions to remember what had happened on her own, but it was as if her memory had been erased.  
"Uh." she faltered, trying to recall any memories of anything at all. "I remember watching the sunset with my friends." She squinted, trying harder to think. That was her last memory, right? That was what she had told herself before. She kept feeling something tugging at her mind though, just beyond her veil of consciousness. She fought with this for a moment, but decided that it was just her imagination. The doctor wrote more than usual after this comment.  
"How did you recover from your injuries so suddenly?" he asked quickly, refusing to make eye contact with her. Minako was taken aback by this. What should she tell him? Obviously her senshi form healed her. or was that what it was? She hadn't henshined on purpose, but nothing else could explain her recovery! But she couldn't tell him that! He does know what I am though. he saw. they all saw. What have I got to lose? She reasoned with herself, biting her lip.  
"I. I think it was caused by my transformation," she stated slowly, eyeing the doctor intently. He started visibly shaking now, and he seemed as if he was having problems writing on his paper.  
"A-and. uh. so. what exactly is the transformation that you underwent?" he stammered, adjusting his glasses and refusing to look at her. Before Minako could answer, she could hear more muffled voices, and the door burst open. She jumped, startled by the large man who has rushed through the door. He filled the entire frame, dressed in an immaculately kept military uniform; this of course completed his terribly intimidating presence. The doctor cringed involuntarily, and the man started booming at them in English.  
"This isn't going fast enough White, get out of the way!" He stormed into the room, and slammed his brawny palm onto the table, causing it to bounce. "Who are you? How the hell did you get here, come back from the dead, and recover from ridiculous injuries in no time flat? How did you destroy a Rex Monster when our BSB's don't work against those things?" His voice rose in pitch and volume with each question, causing Minako to recoil.  
"S-sir. I don't understand," she faltered in English. "You're using words I have never heard before!" This seemed to enrage the man even more, and he whipped around on the doctor.  
"Tell me WHY she is speaking an old dialect of English that is completely extinct? Can you do that? Do you have ANY answers for me?" he roared, spittle landing unceremoniously on Dr. White's face. He trembled visibly, and cleared his throat.  
"Sir, I'm not sure exactly WHY. she has trouble reading modern-day Japanese, and has trouble grasping its spoken tenses as well. If she's struggling with Japanese and speaking an older dialect of it, it's to be expected for her to struggle with English," he quivered under the man's gaze of fire.  
"That's not a good enough answer. I want information from her NOW. She could be dangerous, and if she is we need to know immediately. I will not allow anything to endanger our camp and this research project! You know how pivotal it is to the Underside!" he hollered.  
"S-sir, with all due respect I would wager to say that she is not dangerous. She did save us from that Rex Monster, after all." Dr. White whimpered in reply. The man eyed him with a look of disgust.  
"She may have been sent by the enemy to attack us from the inside! You saw her. she used magic, just like THEM!!"  
The doctor had nothing to offer in response to that, and instead hung his head. The man paced back and forth, staring at Minako with a gaze that seemed to bore holes all the way to the back of her skull. She refused to drop his gaze though.  
"Lock her up. Now. Maximum security, none of this mamby-pamby crap. She is a danger to us and our cause, and I will not risk her possibly sabotaging all the work that we have done so far. I want tests run on her every day, and I want her to have no other contact with other humans! Understand me?" he barked, storming out of the room before Dr. White had a chance to reply. Minako looked at the doctor with a questioning gaze in her eyes, but he had nothing to offer her besides a face of defeat and fear.  
Minako had no idea as to what just happened, but she felt as though things were about to change for the worse.  
  
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Dr. White carried a tray of glass bottles filled with various liquids in them, clattering amongst the various syringes and other medical equipment that also adorned the tray. He nodded to the military guards standing outside a giant steel room on wheels, and headed up a set of metallic stairs. A smallish nurse followed him, carrying a black bag presumably also filled with medical supplies.  
Dr. White had never really been very happy with the procedures that General Hawkins or this research camp practiced. He hated the steel rooms on wheels that they had to lug around with them everywhere. He knew they were useful for holding prisoners and protecting the scientists when they were attacked, but he found them to always be cumbersome and foreboding. Hawkins almost always ordered them to be like prisons, and it wasn't a good prison. The insides were always dark and dreary, and the subject being held within became an unhappy camper within a few days. Hawkins had no compassion though, Dr. White found. He sighed heavily, trudging inside of the heavy steel door. He knew that his job was a hard one, but under Hawkins it was just that much worse.  
Once inside the room with his nurse, he found himself standing in front of another large metal door. After both removing their sunhats and protective gear, he peered into the small slats that were about eye level. In the dim light he spotted Minako curled up on the bench in the back of the room. He slid the keys in the lock, and opened the heavy door. Minako did not move, and instead stayed curled up on the bench, ignoring the doctor and nurse's presence.  
"Hello Minako, we're here to perform your tests for today," he stated matter-of-factly, trying not to let his sympathy for her show. He walked over to her, and placed his tray on a table next to her bench. She was still curled up; clenching a piece of the white robe she was wearing tightly in her hand appeared to be her only solace. He heard her sniffle gently, and even in the dark noticed that her eyes were red and slightly puffy.  
He felt his heart break. This girl had done nothing wrong to anyone, and here she was being kept in solitary confinement, seeing nothing but doctors and nurses everyday who came to prick her with more needles. No wonder she was crying. The poor thing. He was about to say something when her soft voice interrupted his train of thought.  
"Doctor White." she mumbled, sniffling again. "Why does it have to be like this for me? I didn't do anything wrong, did I? I thought you all were being threatened by the dinosaur." she trailed off, apparently slipping back into her own thoughts. The doctor readjusted his tie, and the nurse looked at him curiously.  
He found is endlessly fascinating how she called the Rex Monster a "dinosaur" as if it was really what it was. How this one girl could be so far removed from this world amazed him to no end.  
"No, you didn't do anything wrong. The General is just unsure of what your capabilities are, and wants us to keep a close eye on you until we know," he answered, feeling as if he had done a great job in replying. It was then that Minako sat up slowly, looking at the doctor with her watery eyes.  
"I don't understand anything about this place. I don't understand your language, I don't understand your culture, and I don't understand what happened to me. I don't know how I got here, what happened to my friends, or really anything of what is going on at all. It hurts sometimes. all the confusion I mean. My head really gets these pounding headaches when I try to think about it. I. just don't get how you will punish someone for not understanding what is going on around them," she finished, leaving a gentle sigh on the end of her statement.  
The doctor froze. Something in his head just clicked. He had been listening to her words, and realized that she had used some strange slang- like conjugations of her verbs that was not just an extinct dialogue... but really old. He didn't understand how he had missed something this big before. The magic, the dialect, the lack of knowledge, it all made sense now! He knelt down in front of her, looking her in the eyes. Fresh waves of tears were sliding down her face.  
"Minako," he said very gently. "What. what year do you think it is?" Minako looked up at him, her eyes wide.  
". 1995?" she questioned softly. The doctor felt his brain nearly explode as it flew into fifth gear. This was the final piece to the puzzle! It all made sense now! It was extremely far-fetched, but it made sense! He grasped her shoulder just that much harder. Why hadn't he thought to ask her that before?  
"Minako, do you realize that it is the year is 2987?" he asked quietly, attempting to let his words fall on her as softly as possible. Minako inhaled sharply, jumping back so far she almost hit her head on the wall. The nurse stared at them questioningly, but the doctor ignored her.  
"This is why you don't understand anything that's going on! You're from the past! The entire world has changed. there are new cultures, new language forms, and. this is amazing. this discovery. That doesn't explain your magic, but I have a strong hunch now!" he kept babbling, ignoring the rest of Minako's reaction. He was quickly forming a plan in his mind. He had to free her! She couldn't possibly be an enemy if she was from the past! His conscience nagged at him then, adding its unwelcome two cents worth. She may be lying. This may be a huge ruse to destroy the carefully constructed research. you may cause your people to lose the war!  
He hissed at his conscience, trying to think. His heart was pounding. He could lose his job. his life if he was found guilty for treason. He looked back at Minako and her wide, teary eyes. He had to follow his hunch. If he was correct, this girl may help win the war once and for all! His mother had always told him that he was too gullible and into science-fiction to be a proper doctor anyway, so what did it matter? He had to do this.  
Dr. White spun on his heel, grabbing the nurse by the arm.  
  
====  
  
Dr. White exited the steel room, tray in hand. He was quickly followed by his nurse, who was scribbling on a clipboard. Dr. White's heart was pounding in his skull, causing him to feel vaguely lightheaded. He could do this. He had to. No one would know. He was going to do something great for this world, even if it meant a sacrifice on his part.  
As the doctor and the nurse rounded the corner, he pulled her in between two closely aligned tents, and shooed her down the alley quickly. The nurse looked around nervously. the doctor felt he should be doing the same, but ignored the urge as best as possible.  
"Hurry," he murmured quietly, clenching his teeth in nervousness. As they reached the outskirts of the town, he whipped her around to face him. His breathing had become heavy from the sudden quick movements. It probably also had to do with the adrenaline he knew was pumping through him in huge quantities.  
"Minako. I want you to understand why I did this. I could get into a lot of trouble so please do not let me down. I think you may be the key to winning this war, even if General Hawkins thinks you're a danger. Please, take this," he shoved a scrap of paper into her hands. "I wrote it in your time's hiragana. I hope I didn't mess it up too badly. Those are directions to the nearest entrance to the Underside. I wish I had more time to explain but. anyway, we don't communicate with the Underside but once a month because of atmospheric disturbances, so they should let you in with no problem. Once you're inside, find my son. He will help you from there. I'll distract them here while you make your getaway, and hopefully I'll be able to keep them here long enough to get you a good head start. Please be strong, don't let me down. and don't look back. I may lose my job. even my life over this!" he hoped he wasn't overloading Minako. He had so much information to relay to her in so little time. He kept glancing over his shoulder.  
"Ok, when you hear the sirens go off, start running that way until the camp is out of sight. Don't stop until then or they might see you. Good luck, I must go now," he stammered, looking Minako in the eyes. She smiled at him then, making his insides melt. He felt so sorry for all that this girl had been through, and was glad that he was able to help her. He took off then, racing back the same way he had come.  
  
====  
  
Minako stood there in her sun hat and protective gear, her face hidden from view. She clutched the nurse's medical bag that held her provisions tightly, waiting for the signal. She wasn't quite sure what had caused the change in the doctor's demeanor, but being able to get away from here was the most rewarding thing she'd been up against in quite some time now.  
There is was. The sirens of the camp went up, and she could hear shouts just as before. She didn't even want to pause to think of how he had created the diversion; she just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. She turned towards the bleak horizon that was decorated with endless miles of red dirt, and started running.  
"The Underside. " she panted to herself as she ran. 


	7. Chapter Six

Wow, it's been quite awhile, hasn't it? I apologize for the long hiatus in this story, but I had a semester that was quite overwhelming. My 2D Design class has me up to my neck in projects that all took anywhere from 5-28 hours to complete! Anyway, now that the semester is tapering off, I found some time to write this next chapter!  
This is officially the beginning of the second part of the story, where it takes off in an entirely new (but still related) direction. I hope you enjoy it, and that all of you that were reading this before don't hate me for not updating for nearly four months! ^^; Please R&R!  
  
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A large roar erupted through the dark chasm, disturbing all of the fish and plants near its mouth. There was a fierce rush of water, and a flash of metal swirled by, crackling with electricity.  
"Whooo! I win!" cried a tinny voice over the airwaves, followed by a peal of laughter. A second burst of electricity followed, in an attempt to catch up. The fish darted to hide from the two speeding submarine watercraft, but some of them weren't lucky enough.  
"Aw man, I hate fish splatter!" the same voice laughed again, and the first craft's jets fired to life, the forward momentum clearing the mess from the front glass panel. Inside the craft, Aiden brought it to a halt, and let go of the throttle. He stretched, bumping his hands against the ceiling of the tiny cockpit. The second arrow-shaped ship idled up, and Aiden could see his friend Eric inside of it. Aiden wiped his sweaty brown hair off his forehead, and spun the knob on his crackly radio.  
"—on to White Dove, I repeat Red Lion to White Dove! Do you read me?" an important sounding voice seemed to spit over the air. Aiden grinned, and picked up his radio.  
"Red Lion, this is White Dove. I read you loud and clear. There must have been some sort of interference before," he stated, his smile seemingly unable to be wiped from his face.  
"Interference my ass, Dove. What the hell are you guys doing out there? You were supposed to report back nearly an hour ago!" the voice barked, its angry undertones unmistakable.  
"Ah, Lion... I think the interference is back—I can't hear what you're saying! Please repeat..." Aiden coughed, and rolled his eyes, turning the knob on his radio again.  
"You know, we are going to get in a lot of trouble for this," another voice came in, loud and clear in Aiden's cockpit. Aiden looked over at the other craft to his buddy Eric, who was wearing a grin that matched his own.  
"Ah, like we don't have a JP file the size of a whale anyway," Aiden laughed over his ship-to-ship headset. "I doubt we'll get into anything serious over this anyway."  
"Avoiding contact with the base, faking interference, failure to check in on time, and illegal racing in government owned equipment near off- limits areas? Nah, we'll be fine as long as we've got a good enough excuse," Eric replied with a laugh. Aiden could see his blonde companion looked a little nervous, despite his confident words.  
"I'm the master of excuses Eric, don't lose faith in me now. Want to race again before we head back?"  
"Sure, but let's go somewhere else. This place has lost its luster after six rounds, ya know."  
Aiden peered at their designated raceway. This shallow part of the ocean was extremely barren and flat, allowing for their watercraft to reach their highest speeds. It was great for a racing zone because there was nothing but sand for miles around and therefore there was less to possibly have a collision with. The government would certainly be less than impressed should one of their multi-million dollar X-3 SMS (Submarine Sonic Craft) Runners should be smashed because of illegal racing. Less than impressed, indeed.  
These crafts were designed for high speeds and had tight handling, but they certainly weren't meant for racing. They were designated as research equipment, and had robotic arms that could collect samples and move small objects on the ocean floor. They also had pressure-resistant metal frames, and had a special anti-corrosive compound integrated into the hull to keep the highly acidic levels of the water from eating right through to the cockpit. Just as much as the water was acidic, it was also charged with an unnatural amount of electricity. So, the craft was also built to translate the electricity from the water into useable energy, so that it never needed any outside source of power. The same system continually purified the air, so there was no need for oxygen tanks, either. All of these perks made this model an extremely useful (and expensive) tool for the government in their exploration of the Corros Sea and its surrounding tunnel network.  
Aiden smirked. He had always thought they called it the Corros Sea because it was short for Corrosive, although he knew that wasn't the case. This sea was a vast body of acidic and corrosive chemicals that had a faint purple-pink tinge to it. Not many forms of life thrived down here, and the ones that did were odd species of fish that came in neon-bright colors. They usually had nasty spikes on their skin, and nasty personas to go with it. I'm quite glad that I squished some of them earlier, Aiden thought to himself.  
"Earth to Aiden!"  
Aiden snapped back to the present, blinking. He frequently went off on his own little mind trips. He glanced over to the other X-3 Runner, seeing Eric staring at him impatiently.  
"Heh, sorry. Off in La-La Land again," Aiden replied through his headset.  
"As always," Eric replied. "Let's race over that canyon this time," he continued, pointing towards the hefty chasm that they had crossed by multiple times during their races.  
Aiden nodded in agreement, and then two idled their crafts over to the small crack in the sand where the gorge began. The fans of their ships disturbed the sand in small bursts, and the energy created by the conversion generators hummed and crackled, allowing bolts to escape every now and then. Concentrating, Aiden gripped the throttle in his hand, waiting for the beginning of the race.  
"All right... GO!" cried Eric over the headsets, and the chemical ocean roared to life with sound. Both crafts open throttled to full, and the jet fans screamed. A huge cyclone of sand swirled up, and in the blink of an eye, the two craft were gone.  
Aiden's craft shot ahead of Eric's, and he coaxed it into a dive. He raced his ship right along the top of the canyon, following its path directly. Glancing at his radar, he noticed Eric's ship just on his flank. Aiden grinned.  
"You wanna lose hard this time, eh?" he taunted, and swerved to the right, nearly clipping the front of Eric's Runner. Eric yelped, and lost some of his speed.  
The two craft thundered along the canyon, the electric aura having grown some since more energy was being used. This was something that Aiden absolutely loved. Sure, he liked irritating his superiors, but great amounts of speed and agility was something that really made his blood pump. He guided the craft expertly through a series of loops, and cut a sharp left right along with the pattern of the canyon. It was then that he spotted something on the edge of the canyon. Was that a... plant?  
Aiden blinked, thinking back to the splattered fish. There had been quite a few tiny plants all along that part of the ridge! He pulled off his course, and quickly killed the speed, allowing Eric to rocket past him. Aiden circled close to the plant, hovering in for a better look.  
"Aiden, what the hell?" Eric's voice complained over the headset. "Are you letting me win now?"  
There was no answer, because Aiden was engrossed in using his craft's robotic arm to pluck the plant from the sand. It sure was a plant, alright. It was green, had long leaf-like appendages, and had an entire root system. Aiden stared at it, confused. Plants can't survive in this toxic atmosphere... how is this here? Is this someone's idea of a practical joke?  
Eric's voice sounded over the radio again. "Uh... Aiden? I think you should see this..."  
"I found a plant!" Aiden proclaimed, cutting Eric off. "A real, live green—"  
"Um, yeah so then you should come see this, then," Eric shouted. Aiden put the plant in a species containment box, and hurtled off in the direction Eric had gone. He had followed the chasm further up, and Aiden noticed several more plants along the way. Here the ridge lifted slightly into the air, and created an odd hill-like structure.  
It was covered in plants all along the edges of the ridge. They got denser as the canyon descended, and it seemed to go down for quite a distance.  
"Oh... holy..." Aiden gasped, staring at the immense amount of plants.  
"I haven't seen this many plants anywhere besides in a Hydro Garden!" Eric exclaimed.  
"How could this be? It's not possible..."  
"Want to go check it out?" Eric questioned.  
"You bet your ass! When we report this back to base, they won't care that we were out racing anymore, will they?" Aiden grinned, and guided the nose of his craft into the canyon. He proceeded slowly, not wanting to hit the walls and damage the Runner. He flicked on his lights so that he could see better, and was amazed by the huge mass of green leaves that surrounded him on every side.  
It was then that he spotted the glowing blue light a few yards ahead. He pulled ahead as quickly as the navigation would allow, letting his curiosity have the better of him. There was a small mound of dirt covered in plants, and a large school of strange looking fish hovering around it. They scattered when the lights hit them though, revealing a very large blue crystal.  
"Eric, are you seeing this?" Aiden shouted. He was so excited that he nearly bumped his craft into a wall.  
The crystal was probably over six feet in height, and two to three feet wide. It looked cut, since it had facets, and had a faint glow to it. It was also very cloudy inside.  
"Wow, I wonder how much that thing is worth?" Eric commented.  
"Red Lion will be quite pleased with us today!" Aiden said, and commanded his robotic arm to extend. As it bumped against the crystal, the engine of his craft cut out suddenly, and cockpit and external lights disappeared. Aiden watched as his craft floated down and landed with a thump in the middle of the dark sea of plants, his eyes filled with confusion and fear. 


End file.
